$LLY gains 10% as Q1 revenue hits $19.8B; 2026 outlook raised to $82B-$85B

$19.80 billion of revenue, $8.55 of adjusted EPS, and a guidance raise large enough to move the full-year sales range by $2 billion sent Eli Lilly $LLY up more than 10% on April 30. The drugmaker beat LSEG expectations of $17.62 billion in revenue and $6.66 in adjusted EPS, extending what management described as another quarter of unusually strong topline growth for a company of Lilly’s size.

The company’s quarterly results materials sit at the center of the move, but the market reaction came from the mix of growth and guidance. CNBC reported that Lilly lifted its 2026 revenue outlook to $82 billion to $85 billion from $80 billion to $83 billion, and raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $35.50 to $37.00 from $33.50 to $35.00. That is a meaningful reset for a stock already priced around continued obesity and diabetes demand.

The operational driver remained the same: Mounjaro and Zepbound. Lilly said U.S. revenue climbed 43% to $12.1 billion, powered by a 49% increase in volume, while revenue outside the U.S. jumped 81% to $7.7 billion on a 95% volume increase. Lower realized prices offset part of the benefit, but not enough to stop another major beat. For investors, the important read-through is that volume is still outrunning price pressure even as payers and rebate dynamics become more visible in the U.S. market.

The company also said its newly approved oral obesity GLP-1 pill, Foundayo, launched in the second quarter, so none of its sales were included in the March-quarter results. That matters because the current guide is being lifted before Lilly sees a full-quarter contribution from the pill. In other words, the beat was driven by the injectables franchise first, with oral obesity upside still largely ahead.

The next checkpoint is whether Lilly can keep supply and pricing balanced while scaling globally. Investors will track refill demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound, first signs of Foundayo uptake, and whether the raised $82 billion to $85 billion revenue target still leaves room for another revision later in 2026.

Not investment advice. Verify all figures with primary sources before acting.